1. Technological Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a training simulator for training operators of an industrial plant in which a physical process goes on continuously.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The conventional training simulator for training operators of the thermal power plant shown in FIG. 1 will first be described. The simulator is made up of a training equipment 1 through which simulated operating devices of the plant are manipulated, a computer 2 which processes the signals sent from the training equipment, calculates the process of the plant using several mathematical models, and displays the state of the process on the training equipment, and an instructor's console 3 which dictates the training equipment 1 and computer 2. This training simulator for thermal power plant operators simulates the actual process and control operation of the plant, and therefore the major equipment and process of the actual thermal power plant will first be described with reference to FIG. 3. The thermal power plant is essentially made up of a boiler 201, a turbine 202 and a generator 203, and the process of the plant is controlled on the control panel 100. In the plant, thermal energy is produced in the boiler 201 by the combustion of fuel so as to heat water and vapor which are the carriers of heat. The heated vapor is fed to the turbine 202, in which thermal energy is converted into kinetic energy. Then, the kinetic energy produced by the turbine 202 is converted into electrical energy by the generator 203.
The thermal power plant with a continuous process of energy conversion as mentioned above involves various physical values generated and controlled in each section of the facility. For example, the boiler 201 involves the quantity of fuel and air, and the temperature, pressure and flowrate of vapor as control parameters for the efficient generation of thermal energy, and the turbine 202 involves the temperature, pressure and flowrate of vapor that vary from time to time during the conversion of thermal energy possessed by the vapor into kinetic energy. The generator 203 involves the rotational speed and other physical values related to the generation of electrical energy. All of these physical values are converted into corresponding electrical signals through proper transducers (not shown), and displayed by the lamps and instruments on the control panel 100, through which operators of the power plant are informed of the state of the process. The operators judge the state of power generating process from the displayed information and intervene in the process by operating the switches and handles on the control panel 100 so as to maintain the power generating condition at the optimum condition.
Accordingly, the job of operators in the thermal power plant ranges extensively, and the operators are required to take action against any state of process based on accurate and prompt decision. The purpose of the training simulator is to train operators of the thermal power plant in advance, so that they can operate the actual plant properly and effectively. On this account, the training simulator has the training equipment 1 as shown in FIG. 2 constructed similarly to the control panel 100 of FIG. 3, so that the trainees feel as if they are operating the actual thermal power plant.
The thermal power generating process is performed analogically by the computer 2, and the signals representing the various physical values in the process which vary continuously are delivered to the training equipment 1. The trainees observe the state of simulated process through the display on the training equipment 1 and are required to take a proper action which matches the process state. Generally, the training is conducted for a team of operators consisting of boiler operators, turbine operators and generator operators, as in the case of the actual thermal power plant. However, the situation of operating the thermal power plant does not permit all team members to equally acquire the skill. For example, it takes about 15 hours after the thermal power plant has made a cold start-up until it provides a 100% power output, and most of the time is spent for the rise of the temperatures and pressures in the boiler 21. After the turbine 22 has been started, much time is spent for turbine heat soak before the generator 23 is ready for training, and the generator operators have a lot of idle time.
In order to save the simulator from such low efficiency of training, there has been used a training simulator capable of setting initial conditions. This simulator has a record of physical values at several phases of the thermal power plant so that the process can be started at any phase of the process. This arrangement allows the setup of process to the desired phase of training, e.g., the state of 100% output, by skipping lengthy start-up phases, thereby rendering the training for all team members without wasting time. However, this method cannot completely eliminate the long cold start-up period in which only the trainees of boiler can be trained, but the trainees of turbine and generator are kept waiting until the initial phases are over.
Another conventional training simulator is provided with a so-called fast-motion function which speeds up the power generation process. This function allows, for example, the reduction of the 15-hour cold start-up period by a desired factor, and the total time of training can be cut down. However, even by this method, all trainees of boiler, turbine and generator cannot be trained simultaneously, so the method is not the essential solution against the idle time of trainees.
As mentioned above, the conventional training simulator cannot solve the problem of idle time in training, resulting in a low-efficiency training for plant operators.